Skills & Attitude: Defining The Stow Company’s Ideal Job Candidate
Ready to make a career move? Making sure you’re a great match for the companies you apply for is a necessity. Being a good fit for the company can require a range of skills, background experience, and personality. If you’re wondering whether you would excel at The Stow Company, we’ve outlined our ideal candidate below to give you an idea of how you might interact with and thrive in our work culture.
What specific skill sets are needed?
The Stow Company offers careers in all types of fields from production in our manufacturing plants to traditional corporate services like human resources, accounting, and engineering disciplines. We hire machine operators, warehouse employees, product specialists, graphic designers, customer service reps, engineers, programmers, plant managers... the list goes on and on.
While each position has its own required skills, all of our manufacturing and warehouse positions offer on-the-job training for everything you need to know. We are willing to train employees on how to drive a Hi-Lo, how to use a warehouse gun, how to run the manufacturing machines (advanced, semi-automated, fully automated—we’ll teach you all of it!) and how to perform multiple positions so you can gain responsibilities and earn a promotion. We want you to succeed!
Order Pullers
Order pullers must be able to lift, push, and pull boards of varying shapes and sizes up to 75 pounds independently and multiple times daily. This may include bending, twisting, kneeling, etc. They must have an understanding of hand-held scanners and shipping paperwork. Our order pullers utilize forklifts during the workday, so willingness to drive a forklift once licensed is a necessity.
Machine Operators
Our ideal Machine Operator possesses strong mechanical skills, an understanding of hands-on work, and attention to detail. Machine operators should be able to communicate effectively and confidently with team members via written and verbal means. Operators should be self-motivated and open to learning new skills.
Material Handlers
Our Material Handlers are responsible for operating a variety of Hi-Los safely and effectively. This is not a required skill for candidates, as Stow Company will teach Hi-Lo operations and safety. The ability to band/wrap pallets for shipment and move and lift 50 lbs. multiple times per day is essential for our material handlers.
Material Planners
Material planners must have their Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management or operations as well as 5+ years in the planning/supply chain/operations industry. Our ideal material planner is APICS certified, proficient in MS Excel, and experienced with ERP systems (Manag2000 or SAP). Areas of expertise should include manufacturing & supply chain concepts/flow, lean concepts, and scenario planning and/or forecast modeling. Material planners must also possess interpersonal communication skills to be successful in this role.
Maintenance Machine Repair
Our maintenance machine repairman must be physically able to perform a full range of body movements and stand continuously. Our ideal candidate is someone who is detail-oriented, analytical, an active listener, and a strong communicator. This employee must also have a valid driver’s license.
What experience and work history make a candidate a good fit?
Depending on the role you’re applying for, you may not need any prior experience to be a great candidate for the position. Some positions don’t even require a GED or high school diploma! For example, our Manufacturing Associate role is an entry-level position. We will teach you everything you need to know to be successful – all you need is a willingness to learn and a positive attitude. We pride ourselves on having opportunities for advancement and prioritizing internal promotions. That being said, we are also excited at the opportunity to improve our processes and understanding, so any additional knowledge or experience that employees may have as a result of their background is great too, and we have higher level positions available for qualified internal and external candidates.
What personal qualities / values / habits make a good fit?
At least half of a hiring decision is made because of a candidate’s attitude. Brandon Hazen, Director of Human Resources, says he wants “...someone who will show up and is willing to learn.” Our ideal employee asks questions in the pursuit of knowledge, understanding, and personal growth. They are humble and willing to work hard in their position and keep a positive attitude. We appreciate employees who are future-focused and work with the long-term good of themselves and their community in mind. We maintain a healthy work/life balance, and expect team members to be equally invested in their career and their personal responsibilities.
Benefits & rewards for Stow Company employees
We want to have an impact on the world, as stated in our vision statement: a force for growth and prosperity for our team members, our dealer network, our consumers, and our local economies. Because of our values, mission, and vision, we offer compensation packages for retirement and healthcare, including a market-leading 401(k) match and health savings account contributions.
Internal promotions
At The Stow Company, we prioritize internal promotions whenever possible. We see promotions as a way to reward employees that provide excellent service. Recent internal promotions included three process engineer technicians who had good attendance, an eagerness to learn and grow, and willingness to ask questions. Two of them were sent down to North Carolina for professional development. We also promoted three employees to supervisor, which is a salaried position. We are always looking for individuals who “...are eager to learn and work hard…” because we love providing “...opportunities to grow.”
Consider applying for a position with Stow and help make peopleʼs lives simple and smarter. Stay current with Stow! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates. You may also meet our team on LinkedIn and view available positions on Indeed.